In the morning the wind had died down
completely and the lake was just beautiful. We went through our
normal routine of packing, cooking, eating, cleaning, and then
more packing and took off down the road to get back on route.
2.8 miles later, of which 2.4 miles were climbing, we were 500
or so feet above O’Haver Lake looking down on the campsite. The
rest of the climb up to Marshall Pass was long, but with a good
grade because once again we were following an old rail trail.
Along the way I collected about 40 pounds of old spikes and even
found a big pin that was used to hold the
railroad cars
together. I didn’t realize how much the stuff weighed until I
took it all out at lunch - way too much weight. So I kept just
a couple of them and stashed the rest at the base of a tree on
top of a little rock outcrop on a corner about 0.4 miles west of
the pass. Dad took some pictures of the spot, so hopefully I’ll
be able to find it if I ever get back there. The pin especially
would be cool to have. We’re camping just behind the Trading
Post in Sargents and set up the tents on a gravel RV pad, but
they do have showers!!
Day 42: 07 July 2005
Sargents, CO to Luders Creek CG
48.45 miles 14 cattle guards
5 hrs 50 min
Wow. Today was long and hot. I woke up
this morning at about 6:00, showered, heated up the water… The
tent was actually damp from condensation which hasn’t happened
in the past few days. We made a quick trip to the post office
in Sargents to send some unnecessary weight home and cruised the
first 13 miles to Doyleville. There were some rolling hills;
the majority however had a slight downhill grade. We made it
there in less than an hour. Right before arriving in Doyleville
I found a little Black and Decker cordless drill set on the side
of the road, complete with battery charger and a bunch of bits.
I justified strapping it to my trailer because I had just sent
home a few pounds.
The rest of the day was not near as fast.
The sun was hot, there was no shade whatsoever and it was a long
mileage day. We went past the lower and upper Dome Reservoirs
and the continued climbing up to Cochetopa Pass – 10,067 ft, CD
crossing #17. The campground where we are sleeping tonight is
two miles beyond the pass; I naturally assumed that it would be
a nice little downhill run to the campground after going over
the divide. During the climb up to the pass I just kept telling
myself that all I needed to do was make it to the pass.
Unfortunately, the last two miles were quite flat and actually
included a couple uphill sections. Hmmmm. Anyways, we are
here, dinner and clean-up are done, and it’s only 8:00 pm. I’ve
still got a little time for Harry Potter. We are going to try
and get an early start tomorrow and make it all the way into Del
Norte. I hope we can do it. I want to hear Angela’s voice
again.
One more thing: the first shade we say
today was at about 4:30 pm. It was even the first shade since
lunch time yesterday. It felt so good – I need to put more sun
block on my legs.
Day 43: 08 July 2005
Luders Creek CG to Del Norte, CO
64.44 miles 14 cattle
guards 6 hrs 52 min
We made it to Del Norte!! Since we haven’t
been making decent progress lately because of my sickness and
because lucky for Dad I passed it on to him, we wanted to get to
Del Norte as soon as possible. The water pump at Luders Creek
was missing the handle, but another group of campers showed us
this great little spring at the back of the campground – just up
and over the fence. We left camp at about 9:00 am and the drop
back down to Hwy 114 was quite bumpy – lots of loose gravel and
rock on the road, but the terrain was beautiful. Huge granite
boulders and outcroppings with trees sometimes growing right out
of the top. Some of them looked like huge blobs of play-dough
just dropped on top of each other. The ensuing climb up to Carnero Pass was bout 11 miles long, but the majority was a very
gentle grade. There were some granny gear sections but they
were intermixed with the long gentle climbs. At the top of the
pass 10,166 ft, we stopped for cheese and crackers which has
become our new lunch staple.
We stopped for water at the suggested
overnight – a completely empty Storm King Campground – at about
3:00 pm. The water pump here was working, so with the bottles full we continued our descent.
Eventually we
left the Rio Grand National Forest and rode
through some rural homesteads along Carnero Creek and passed
through the “Gate of the Canon” – a huge basalt formation carved
out by the creek. A mixture of gravel and pavement brought us
through some more beautiful canyons to Forest Rd 665 which was a
very primitive double-track. This was a nice change of pace
which required us to be more alert and aggressive in our
ridings. We followed this road for quite some time, the
dialogue here is tricky, and managed to pop out onto County Rd
38A quite a few miles east of where we were supposed to be. I
still can’t figure out how we got so off course, but we decided
to just continue on 38A down to Hwy 112 and ride that into
town. We found a small café to eat dinner. Fred and Becky
actually walked in as we were finishing and afterwards escorted
us to their house at the other end of town. It was REALLY good
to see them.
09 July 2005
Rest Day in Del Norte
Dad fell during our little escape on FR 665
– we went on a section that was badly eroded and the bottom was
just soft sand. Because his shoulder was still quite sore from
his diving baseball catch a month or so ago, he took the fall
with his rib cage. This morning Fred DROVE us down to the
hospital so he could get some x-rays and also some medicine for
his cough – which unfortunately appears to be the exact same
thing that I had. X-rays were luckily negative. Later on in
the afternoon we DROVE up to Monte Vista to fill his
prescription and to shop at Safeway. Fred and Becky took us all
up to Big Meadow reservoir for a dinner picnic. It’s about 45
minutes from here and is just beautiful. We ate hamburgers and
hot dogs, fished a little, paddled around in the canoe a little
and just relaxed. I slept almost the entire way home and then
stayed up rather late talking to Angela. I love her. We
decided to stay here another day (July 10) and go to Church and
hopefully let Dad recoup a bit more.
12 July 2005
Resting back in Provo, UT
It’s about 7:30 am and I’m sitting in the
Greyhound Terminal in Salt Lake. Yes, that’s right, Salt Lake.
Yesterday morning Dad still wasn’t feeling too hot, so we
decided to come get the van and if Dad still isn’t feeling
better by the time I get back to Del Norte, then he can follow
us in the van for the last couple weeks. I honestly hope that
he miraculously heals before tomorrow afternoon because I want
to finish the ride with him. I think it was a hard decision for
him to come get the van, but I am terribly excited to see Angela
in just a couple of hours. The Greyhound crowd is definitely a
unique group of people…not much sleep last night.
Day 44: 14 July 2005
Del Norte, CO to almost
Schinzel Flats
32.03 miles 3 cattle
guards 4 hrs 34 min
Well, we are back on the trail and
BOB-less. It’s been nearly a week since we’ve ridden. You
wouldn’t think that would make much difference, but it sure
did. Today’s ride didn’t help much either. We climbed up and
over Indiana Pass, 11,910 ft, the highest point of the entire
Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Del Norte is located at 7,874
ft so we gained over 4,000 ft in the first 24 miles. Of those
24, the first 11 were paved and mostly flat, so the real
climbing started at mile 12 when we hit gravel. It was a long
ride and the worst part was that the downhill was only a couple
miles long before we started climbing to get out of Summitville,
and old mining town which is now and EPA superfund site. Just
as we were about ready to cross the next little divide, there
was a group of people who had
driven up and were all looking up
at one of the mountains with binoculars. We pulled over and
they quickly shared their binoculars and pointed out a huge herd
of elk way up on the mountain. They were well spread out across
a big bowl, but I would estimate that there were at least 100.
As we were sitting there gazing up, Dad pulled up in the van.
Boy was he a sight for sore eyes. He had scrounged through
every bike shop in Alamosa and found three different trunk racks
and even a short water bottle to fit my frame. He told us that
the pump at Stunner Campground was broken, so there really
wasn’t any point in pushing on to that location. We dropped
down the backside for a couple more miles and found a nice
grassy knoll. Thunderstorms were brewing about, but we only got
a few drops just as we were finishing dinner. My head is all
clogged up again, so I took a dose of Nyquil and it is just
starting to take affect. Good night.
Day 45: 15 July 2005
Schinzel Flats to Hwy 17 junc w/ FR
117
49.77 miles 9 cattle guards 5 hrs
After another hearty breakfast of oatmeal
and hot chocolate (and a banana compliments of Dad’s support
wagon) we headed off toward Platoro. My bum felt much better
even though my head was incredibly clogged. I honestly wasn’t
sure how far I would be able to go today, but luckily once I got
pumping, the nose and sinuses cleared and I felt great. We
cruised through the rolling hills along the top near Elwood Pass
and then really cruised down past Iron Creek and Stunner
Campground. The after crossing the Alamosa River, it was a
quick four mile climb up to Stunner Pass, 10,500 ft, and another
fast descent down to Platoro which is made up mostly of touristy
summer cabins. The plan was to meet Dad in Horca where FR 250
joined Hwy 17. The 23 miles from Platoro to Horca would have
been wonderful had it not been for the absolutely relentless
washboard. Even my triceps are sore from holding the handlebars
so tight. There were some ups and downs in this stretch, but it
was mostly down following the Conejos Rivers through a beautiful
valley. We popped out in Horca at 2:00 pm 40 miles from our
campsite this morning and Dad still wasn’t there. We waited for
a little over an hour and then decided to just move on. I told
the cashier in the store to let Dad know if he came in looking
for us (no cell reception – not even Verizon) and I called Mom
from a pay phone to let her know our plan. We then started
climbing up La Manga Pass.
Usually we are not pavement fans, but after
such a horrible road leaving Platoro, this smooth hot black tar
was just like heaven. The grade was steep in sections, but it
still didn’t take us long to climb the six miles to the top.
Right before we crested the pass, 10,230 ft, the thunder and
lighting that had been around us for most of the afternoon
finally let loose. It wasn’t raining too hard at first so I
just pulled over, put on my rain jacket, and kept going. Right
after the actual pass, however, the floodgates opened, with lots
of close lightning and extremely loud thunder and even some hail
mixed in. Since there was still no sign of Dad and since he had
all of our gear, it was either pull over and get cold and wet or
keep moving and get cold and wet. We kept moving. Coming down
the backside of the pass there were times when I just had to
keep my head down and watch the white line because if I lifted
it up, I couldn’t see anything. We rounded a bend where the
Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad does a small loop and started
climbing up the other side of the valley. By now the rain had
let up and we were almost to the gravel FR 117 where we were
supposed to turn so I pulled over to talk to the boys to figure
out if we should keep going. While we were standing there, Dad
pulled up and we are camped about 50 yards up a dirt road right
above the highway. Hamburgers are cooking on the camp stove for
dinner. Mmmm.
Day 46: 16 July 2005
Junc of Hwy 17 w/ FR 117 to Hopewell
Lake
54.69 miles 15 cattle
guards 6 hrs 47 min
From our campsite near La Manga Pass we
cruised down the highway for just 1.8 miles before we turned off
and crossed the narrow gage Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad.
Dad went down to Chamas to get a flat tire on the van fixed and
he took a bunch of pictures of the train as it headed out. $69
for a ticket and it was packed. The first half of today was
great – ups and downs, nothing severe, and then FR 87 was just a
rugged jeep trail complete with lots of ruts and rocks. It was
a blast. One section after Brazos Ridge was even reminiscent of
Washington: thick furs and pines and muddy roads. Good stuff.
Unfortunately once we got to Lagunitas
Campground the road turned back to gravel and it was right back
to the hellish washboard. There were sections where it wasn’t
bad, but not many until we turned onto FR 133 towards Hwy 64.
More climbs and drops brought us to Cisneros Park (not really a
park, just a big wide-open meadow with a view). Dad was waiting
there for us so we got some cold water and then dropped down to
the Hwy and finished with a tortuous five mile climb up to
Hopewell Lake. The campground here is just packed so we’re
camped in the trees just up the road. It is bed time.
Day 47: 17 July 2005
Hopewell CG to junc. of Hwy
84 and 554
51.35 miles 4 cattle
guards 4 hrs 30 min
Dad cooked a great breakfast this morning:
burritos complete with eggs, big chunks of ham, a little
hamburger, lots of cheese, and pace
“pick-up-the-thick-and-chunky-one” salsa. All wrapped up in a
warm Mission flour tortilla. And we had orange-pineapple juice
to wash it down. To be honest, I really don’t miss the
oatmeal. We didn’t get out of camp until about 9:00, but it was
well worth it. There were just a couple of small climbs in the
beginning, then some really good downhills all the way to Cañon
Plaza, a very, very small town if you could even call it that.
Right after we dropped onto the pavement we saw Dad driving up
in the Sport Wagon. We stopped and filled up on water and then
headed down to the only slightly larger town of Vallecitos which
actually had a Post Office. The town itself was completely run
down and actually was kind of scary to ride through – lots of
mean dogs were there to greet us.
The climb out of Vallecitos was HOT, but
soon we were back up among the pines. Just a couple of miles
from the summit some impressive thunder and lightning started
but it only rained on us for about 15 seconds. We finished the
climb and started down but after only a mile or two it was
apparent that it had rained quite a bit more on this side of the
pass because there was a ton mud – caliche as the locals call
it. At first it was really fun sliding all over the place, but
the mud was extremely sticky and soon built up and made it
nearly impossible to roll, even downhill. We took some video
and pictures and then tried to keep pushing on but Braedon’s
rear derailleur broke. The hanger snapped and his derailleur as
wrapped up in his spokes above the chain stay. We took off his
chain and cable and re-sized the chain to make him a
“single-speed.” Then we sat there for a while longer scraping
mud off of the bikes. The sun was out and had mostly dried up
the road. The remainder of the ride down to El Rito was
downhill with mud chunks flying everywhere, eyes mostly closed
and praying not to go off the road.
Dad was there at the highway waiting for us
again and we exchanged mud stories and then rode up the road a
bit to a little restaurant “El Farolito.” It was really good
Mexican food. Then we rode the next 12 miles to Hwy 84 where
Dad was again waiting and we loaded up and drove to Santa Fe.
There is a KOA here quite a ways out of town where we are camped
and tomorrow we hope to find some good bike shops to get Braedon
back on the road. We’ve showered – very good – and will do
laundry in the morning. The bikes are all cleaned up. Another
long day…
Day 48: 18 July 2005
Junc Hwy 84 and 554 to Abiquiu, NM
3.77 miles 0 cattle
guards 17 min
We spent most of the day in Santa Fe
shopping and getting Braedon’s bike fixed. The guys at Ace
Mountain Bikes really hooked him up. They had an extra hanger
that Dad filed down to fit and then sold Braedon a used XT rear
derailleur for $35 and didn’t charge him anything for labor.
Late in the afternoon we drove back towards
Abiquiu and we rode the stretch on 84 from 554 into “town” so we
could just start from there in the morning. At the gas station
we loaded up again and drove up to the Corps of Engineers
Campground on Abiquiu Reservoir. It is a big, beautiful place
with water, showers, everything. I wish we could have stayed
there longer; it would be a fun family camping spot. Dinner was
chicken chow mien. Mmmmm.
Day 49: 19 July 2005
Abiquiu, NM to Trail 51 Trailhead
64.93 miles 13 cattle
guards 8 hrs 15 min
I woke up just a few minutes before 5:00
and then just laid there for a while. It was going to be a
loooong day. We wanted to go from Abiquiu all the way to Cuba,
about 80 miles including what the
book called the hardest climb
in the entire route. Dad made breakfast burritos again while
the rest of us struck camp and then he drove us back down to Abiquiu. We were on the trail a few minutes after 7:00 am. The
climb was incredibly long – about 27 miles and the road was more
like a rough jeep trail. There was a four or five mile
“slick-rock” section and then just a ton of really rough road
mixed with some loose sand sections. Needless to say, we didn’t
get to the first summit (yup, there was more than one) until
after 3:00 pm. There was short downhill, then another climb and
then some longer, rougher downhills. We crossed a cattle guard
right before turning onto FR 315 and Dad was sitting up on a
stump reading. We talked for a bit, then refilled the water
bottles (cold water is absolutely amazing) and
continued on.
The ensuing miles were much gentler, still ups and downs, but
the road was good. It felt wonderful to finally be able to get
some miles racked up. Dad had told us that there wasn’t any
place to camp in Cuba and that it would be better to stop while
we were still up in the trees. We are camped in a nice little
spot right after the trailhead for trail 51. Dinner was
hamburgers and the sunset which we enjoyed while we were still
riding, was beautiful.
Day 50: 20 July 2005
Trail 51 Trailhead to Pueblo Pintado,
NM
66.5 miles 5 cattle
guards 4 hrs 5 min
The ride out of Abiquiu was so long that it
took us a few hours to get moving this morning. Dad cooked
another wonderful breakfast burrito meal. We cleaned and lubed
the bikes and were on the road just before 10:00 am. I broke
the previous day’s high speed in the first quarter mile and in
no time we were down to the highway where we waited 20 minutes
for the pilot car to lead us down through a construction zone.
It was fun to see the worker’s expressions as we cruised by on
bikes. Down in Cuba, we met Dad outside a hardware store. He
was talking to three other cyclists on their way up north. I
bought some replacement bolts for the hinges on my trunk rack,
one of them had broken on the rough descent the day before. Dad
suggested buying extras so I went back in and got some, which
was good because the other pin broke later in the afternoon. We
opted for lunch at a Subway there in town and were finally on
our way towards Chaco a little bit before 1:00 pm. There was a
pretty good shoulder and only gentle climbs and drops over the
next 53 miles to Pueblo Pintado. Very fast riding. I rolled in
just a few minutes after 5:00 pm and eventually found Dad in a
trailer behind the mini-market talking to a guy named Dennis.
After a lengthy visit with him, we drove the 30 or so miles out
to Chaco Canyon arriving just before dusk.
21 July 2005
Rest Day in Chaco Canyon
Today has been our rest day in Chaco Canyon
National Historic Park. We went and walked through Pueblo
Bonito, the largest of the Chaco great houses that during its
peak around 1150 AD was five stories tall and had 800 rooms.
The ruins are quite impressive and I took lots of pictures and
video – probably too much. We went back to the visitor center
to eat lunch on a covered picnic table. It is deathly hot
here. It’s now after 6:00 pm now and the clouds are finally
covering the area. We’ve been lounging/sleeping/reading up in
the shadow of the canyon wall behind our campsite for the last
four hours or so.
Day 51: 22 July 2005
Chaco Turnoff on Hwy 9 to Grants, NM
63.2 miles 0 cattle
guards 4 hrs 45 min
Because of another dragging mornings and
the hour plus drive (22 mile dirt road from Chaco) back to the
highway, we didn’t start riding today until 10:00 am. But
because we’re on the Chaco Alternate, it was all paved. We
decided to just ride the ten miles from the Chaco turnoff on Hwy
9 back to the route
instead of driving back up to Pueblo Pintado
where we stopped yesterday. The mileage difference was only two
miles. Those first ten miles flew by and we told Dad to then
wait for us 36 miles down the road at the next turn.
Unfortunately there was now a slight headwind. Even with the
winding road it seemed to always be in our face. The climbs got
a little larger as well, but we still made o.k. time. I was out
in the lead and arrived first to where Dad was waiting. A few
moments later it started to rain – big drops – so I climbed
inside the van. Scott arrived just a couple minutes later,
climbed inside and we waited a few minutes more for Braedon.
Right after he climbed inside the rain really started coming
down, so we ate our cheese and crackers and watched the last bit
of Behind Enemy Lines.
Just as we were finishing up our “lunch”
the rain stopped and the sun came out and with clean bikes we
zipped though the final 18 miles to Grants. The KOA where we
had planned to stay left much to be desired, so we loaded the
bike there and drove back to Dairy Queen. A few large Blizzards
later, Dad got some information on other camping spots. We
ended up at Lavaland RV Park, just across the freeway (I-40)
from Wal-Mart. It’s a nice little place, a bit run down, but
it’s only $15 including hot showers and a free pool table.
Day 52: 23 July 2005
Grants,
NM to Armijo Canyon Rd.
46.38 miles 2 cattle
guards 3 hrs 50 min
We ate at a truck stop buffet last night –
the Iron Skillet. We were obviously quite bloated by the time
we left there and for the first time in a long time I didn’t
sleep very well. It was really hot as well, which definitely
didn’t help. Dad woke up at about 6:00 am and said he was going
to run down to Wal-Mart to do some shopping. I was already
tossing, so after Dad left it was impossible to get back to
sleep. I packed everything up and wanted to cook some oatmeal,
but Dad had forgotten to leave the propane tank. So, once
everything was ready to go, we just sat and waited. Scott made
a jump on one of the railroad ties outlining the tent area.
That kept us entertained for a while, then at 8:00 am they
opened the main office and Scott and Braedon went in to play
some pool. Dad showed up a few minutes later. Apparently
Wal-Mart didn’t even open until 7:00. We packed everything and
then went back to the Iron Skillet for their breakfast buffet (I
guess we didn’t learn our lesson last night) and gorged
ourselves on sausage and bacon, pancakes, hash browns, eggs,
just mainly the healthy stuff. Finally at about 10:00 am we
were on the road and after a short detour caused by a missed
turn, we were on our way into El Malpais National Monument.
There is a nice visitor center/ranger station where we stopped
to use the restroom and get some water. Dad caught up with us
there and stayed pretty close for the rest of the day because it
looked like the windows of heaven could open up at any moment.
Lots of thunder and lightning too. We rode down to the La Ventana Trail and hiked up to the little viewpoint they have –
it really is an impressive arch. Dad drove a few more miles up
the road and waited for us where it looked like one of the big
thunderstorms would hit us. We ate lunch there in the van as
the storm approached. A wall of dark clouds dropping huge
amounts of precipitation came
close, but then the winds shifted
and we never got more than a few sprinkles. After lunch we rode
down to the turnoff onto gravel that leads to Pie Town. We had
planned to try Homestead Canyon for a campsite, but when we got
there the road was basically a muddy river. We pressed on until
the next intersection which was the road to Armijo Canyon. This
one is up on a small ridge so it wasn’t nearly as flooded. We
set up the tents just a few yards off the main road and Dad
cooked sloppy joes for dinner. We want to make it quite a bit
past Pie Town tomorrow, so I need my rest.
J
Day 53: 24 July 2005
Armijo
Canyon Rd to Valle Tio Vences CG
57.92 miles 26 cattle
guards 5 hrs 40 min
There’s nothing quite like being woken up
in the morning by the ruckus of cows and crows. It is actually
the morning of the 25th, but I was way too exhausted
to write anything last night. It was a LONG day. We woke up
early and the sky was clear, so things were looking promising.
We were on the road by 7:30 or so and were able to make good
time, punching out the 30 miles to Pie Town by 10:45 am. The
famous PIE-O-NEER Café didn’t open until noon, so we just pulled
over and made sandwiches for an early lunch and then pulled out
again. As we were riding through the scattered and strange
houses that make up the town in Pie Town, I spotted an LDS
Chapel – unfortunately by this time it was already noon and we
figured we had missed the sacrament. We had no idea there would
be a chapel in such a small town.
We continued riding another six and a half
miles to where I had to “dig a hole” and while I was engaged in
such an activity it started raining. As compelling evidence to
our ever-growing softyness, we piled into the van to wait out
the rain. This wasn’t the typical blow in and blow over storm.
We sat/slept/read in the van for the better part of two hours.
When the rain finally let up, the roads were pretty mucky, but
we decided to give it a go. Luckily the roads weren’t sticky
like what we had run into above El Rito (not yet anyways). A
mile or two later the soil composition changed and we were
brought to a standstill by our now 29 inch tires. They don’t
work too well on a 26 inch frame.
We scraped the mud off and
tried to keep going, but it just built up again until it was
impossible to roll. A few hundred yards up the road, the soil
was a lighter color, so we ended up mostly carrying the bikes up
to that section. It was drier and after another scraped job, we
were able to start pedaling again. Unfortunately the rain also
started again, so we waited. The rain stopped, the sun started
to poke through the clouds and dry out the road and we started
riding again. Coming down a small descent, I saw that the flat
area was made up of the sticky mud/clay again, but after another
hundred yards it was dry. I started cranking as fast as I could
and just plowed through, huge chunks of mud flying everywhere
and my speed gradually decreased, but I did make it across.
It wasn’t until after 5:00 pm that we made
it to the junction with FR 214 only 17.4 miles from Pie Town.
Climbing up the final pass a few miles later we encountered yet
another mud section. Braedon’s hanger broke for the second time
and he also took out one of his rear spokes. We were about 150
miles from the nearest bike shop in Silver City. Dad drove
ahead of us and found that the mud lasted about another quarter
mile, so he came back, loaded us up in the van and carried us to
drier ground. Braedon became single speed once again and we
inched our way up the last three miles to the campground,
arriving here well after dark. It’s a nice little campground,
situated among some relatively huge ponderosa pines right on top
of the Continental Divide. Someone was even kind enough to
leave us some firewood.
Day 54: 25 July 2005
Valle Tio Vences CG to Beaverhead Work Station
69.68 miles 18 cattle
guards 5 hrs 40 min
We slept in a bit this morning after that
long day yesterday. Dad cooked his wonderful and now standard
ham and eggs which was complemented by ice-cold O.J. For some
odd reason, Dad and Scott had full coverage on their phones and
Scott spent most of the morning talking to Mom. We rolled out
of camp at about 8:30 am and cruised down the extremely bumpy
road to Hwy 12 where Dad helped Braedon call Marin and order a
new hanger for his bike. It will be in Silver City tomorrow
morning.
After crossing Hwy 12, the rest of the day
was extremely gentle grade ups and downs. We crossed the
Continental Divide twice almost without noticing it and then
skirted around Elkhorn Mountain which was
on fire. It was
started by lightning and the Forest Service here believes in
letting it burn naturally so the forest can rebuild. The road
we were on was the fire break, so it was weird to see everything
black on the right side and everything alive on the left.
Fortunately the smoke wasn’t too bad and we were able to make
good time on the gentle grade. On the downside of the 3rd
C.D. crossing we came to some ranch land where the road was no
longer graveled – just dirt. Some big storm clouds were
gathering. Judging by the large ruts in the road, I didn’t want
to be there if the rain started so once again, we cruised. Dad
followed us in the van and it
was actually quite impressive what
the Sport Wagon can negotiate. A small climb and way too much
washboard later we arrived at the Forest Service Beaverhead Work
Station. They let us camp right in front of the main office
next to a pit toilet.
Day 55: 26 July 2005
Beaverhead Work Station to
Mimbres, NM
57.0 miles 13 cattle
guards 5 hrs 54 min
What a beast of a day. It’s been almost a
week since we had any real tough climbs and there were multiple
ones today. The book shows some wisdom in camping at Black
Canyon Campground and splitting up the climbs.
Right from the beginning we dropped down
from the work center, rode across a small meadow and started
climbing. A few miles later we dropped down to the private Wall
Lake. What an oasis with a beautiful stream flowing down into
it. Lots of water fowl, even a couple of what looked like Great
Blue Herons. The stream was the first running water that we had
seen since just outside of Del Norte, 12 days ago. It is way
too dry down here. Rising above Wall Lake was a four or five
mile climb and then a screaming, roller-coaster descent to Black
Canyon, followed by another incredible climb up the other side,
then another exciting drop into Rocky Canyon, and then another
grueling climb back up to the Divide. We rode on top for a few
miles, then dropped to Hwy 35 and cruised down to Mimbres where
we loaded up and Dad drove us to Silver City to a KOA. After an
extremely gorging dinner at Golden Corral, it was hot showers
and bed time.
Today was supposedly our “rest day.” Ha.
Dad ferried us back to Mimbres where we started with a good
steep climb up Georgetown Rd. There were a lot of signs of old
mines up that road and on top there was a neat old cemetery. On
the way down the other side, the Santa Rita Copper Mine came
into view and it is huge. Lots of big rolling hills later we
rolled into the KOA, but Dad wasn’t there. Scott called him and
we decided to meet him at a Pizza Hut in downtown Silver City.
It was kind of tricky to find, but we did make it in time for
the lunch buffet. Once again, we ate way too much.
We wanted to ride the first paved section
(just over 18 miles) leaving Silver City so that our centennial
ride wouldn’t
be too terribly long. When we were about ready to
pop, we left Pizza Hut and got back on the bikes and started
pedaling out of town. The book said that once you left Silver
City you were leaving the mountains behind. They must have been
driving in their Jeep when they wrote that because probably ¾ of
the ensuing 18 miles were uphill. Not huge Montana-like
mountains, but definitely still mountains. We rode past the
Tyron Mine, another immense copper pit, finally arriving at Separ Rd where we planned to meet Dad. He wasn’t there, but
arrived shortly thereafter. Once we got back into town we
stopped at a really cool park close to the Pizza Hut and played
on the playground for a while, after all it was our rest day.
Soon the thunderstorms sent us scurrying back to the van and
back to the campsite. Apparently it had rained much, much
harder back at camp. There had been a muddy river draining the
upper sites that ran right under our tent. Everything was a
mess. We also had to clean and lube the bikes for the long day
ahead. We didn’t get to be until almost 10:00 pm – quite the
“rest day.”
Day 57: 28 July 2005
Separ
Rd to Antelope Wells, NM
107 miles 21 cattle
guards 8 hrs 40 min
4:15 am came way too quickly but I was
excited to start our (hopefully) last day. I woke up the boys
and Scott’s exact words were, “you’ve got to be kidding.” As we
packed everything – still quite wet and muddy – and then ate a
quick breakfast of oatmeal and hot chocolate by headlamp, Scott
just kept saying, “I’m on vacation.”
After everything was loaded, we stopped at
Wal-Mart to get some ice and batteries for Dad’s camera. Then
it was off to Separ Rd. Even though it was brutal yesterday on
such a full stomach, I’m glad we didn’t have to worry about
those first 18 miles today. The climbs would have sucked out
way too much energy. The first few miles on Separ Rd. were
great. We were high up on top fairly close to the actual
Continental Divide and the road was mostly smooth dirt. We
followed a wash for a while and crossed it several times – sandy
bottoms. It was nice and cool – perfect riding weather as the
sun crested the mountain and gave us huge shadows to the west.
This was the earliest start we had made, being in the saddle
right after 6:00 am. We continued on the smooth dirt/gravel
roads at the sun rose and actually came across a rattle snake
warming himself in the middle of the road. By the time I
realized that it wasn’t just a stick, I was almost on top of him
and had to hit the breaks and swerve to miss him. He didn’t
enjoy the gravel bath that my back tire gave him, but it made
for some good video afterwards.
We continued pumping through the desert and
eventually made it to Separ which really isn’t much more than a
gas station. A few miles of washboard filled frontage road
alongside I-10 was enough to make us grateful for pavement again
when we turned south on Hwy 146 towards Hachita. Arriving there
in time for a late lunch at the Hachita Café (an old semi
trailer container converted restaurant) we stopped and read some
of the entries in the GDMBR journal that they have there.
Matthew Lee was the only divide rider that we met this year, so
it was fun to recognize some of the names from last year. We
signed it as well, reloaded our water bottles and headed out to
finish the final 46 miles to the border.
The final stretch on Hwy 81 was long and
flat and hot. Once we crossed between the Hatchet Mountains it
was pretty much a straight shot all the way to Mexico. We did
see some more pronghorn, a couple large tarantulas and
millipedes, and even a tortoise crossing the road. It was hard
not to just be in a trance staring at the odometer wishing and
hoping to see it turn over to triple digits. Dad followed close
by to give us fresh water and encouragement. Finally we pulled
into the Border Inspection Station just before the dusk and
quickly made friends with the guard and his many dogs. There
was even a huge bull standing there near the road munching on
the green grass. The guard shared some popsicles with us (he
said the Schwann’s man makes weekly deliveries out there.) and
we chatted and took pictures until well after dark. They let us
step across the border and take some pictures in Mexico too.
The border usually closes at 4:00 pm, but there was a group of
Mexicans on their way to Phoenix who had car trouble so they
were waiting for another van to come pick them up. The guard
kept the station open until they left. We also loaded up into
our van and headed north.
In the morning the wind had died down
completely and the lake was just beautiful. We went through our
normal routine of packing, cooking, eating, cleaning, and then
more packing and took off down the road to get back on route.
2.8 miles later, of which 2.4 miles were climbing, we were 500
or so feet above O’Haver Lake looking down on the campsite. The
rest of the climb up to Marshall Pass was long, but with a good
grade because once again we were following an old rail trail.
Along the way I collected about 40 pounds of old spikes and even
found a big pin that was used to hold the
railroad cars
together. I didn’t realize how much the stuff weighed until I
took it all out at lunch - way too much weight. So I kept just
a couple of them and stashed the rest at the base of a tree on
top of a little rock outcrop on a corner about 0.4 miles west of
the pass. Dad took some pictures of the spot, so hopefully I’ll
be able to find it if I ever get back there. The pin especially
would be cool to have. We’re camping just behind the Trading
Post in Sargents and set up the tents on a gravel RV pad, but
they do have showers!!
We made a quick trip to the post office
in Sargents to send some unnecessary weight home and cruised the
first 13 miles to Doyleville. There were some rolling hills;
the majority however had a slight downhill grade. We made it
there in less than an hour. Right before arriving in Doyleville
I found a little Black and Decker cordless drill set on the side
of the road, complete with battery charger and a bunch of bits.
I justified strapping it to my trailer because I had just sent
home a few pounds. 
The rest of the day was not near as fast.
The sun was hot, there was no shade whatsoever and it was a long
mileage day. We went past the lower and upper Dome Reservoirs
and the continued climbing up to Cochetopa Pass – 10,067 ft, CD
crossing #17. The campground where we are sleeping tonight is
two miles beyond the pass; I naturally assumed that it would be
a nice little downhill run to the campground after going over
the divide. During the climb up to the pass I just kept telling
myself that all I needed to do was make it to the pass.
Unfortunately, the last two miles were quite flat and actually
included a couple
uphill sections. Hmmmm. Anyways, we are
here, dinner and clean-up are done, and it’s only 8:00 pm. I’ve
still got a little time for Harry Potter. We are going to try
and get an early start tomorrow and make it all the way into Del
Norte. I hope we can do it. I want to hear Angela’s voice
again. 
We made it to Del Norte!! Since we haven’t
been making decent progress lately because of my sickness and
because lucky for Dad I passed it on to him, we wanted to get to
Del Norte as soon as possible. The water pump at Luders Creek
was missing the handle, but another group of campers showed us
this great little spring at the back of the campground – just up
and over the fence. We left camp at about 9:00 am and the drop
back down to Hwy 114 was quite bumpy – lots of loose gravel and
rock on
the road, but the terrain was beautiful. Huge granite
boulders and outcroppings with trees sometimes growing right out
of the top. Some of them looked like huge blobs of play-dough
just dropped on top of each other. The ensuing climb up to Carnero Pass was bout 11 miles long, but the majority was a very
gentle grade. There were some granny gear sections but they
were intermixed with the long gentle climbs. At the top of the
pass 10,166 ft, we stopped for cheese and crackers which has
become our new lunch staple. 
left the Rio Grand National Forest and rode
through some rural homesteads along Carnero Creek and passed
through the “Gate of the Canon” – a huge basalt formation carved
out by the creek. A mixture of gravel and pavement brought us
through some more beautiful canyons to Forest Rd 665 which was a
very primitive double-track. This was a nice change of pace
which required us to be more alert and aggressive in our
ridings. We followed this road for quite some time, the
dialogue here is tricky, and managed to pop out onto County Rd
38A quite a few miles east of where we were supposed to be. I
still can’t figure out how we got so off course, but we decided
to just continue on 38A down to Hwy 112 and ride that into
town. We found a small café to eat dinner. Fred and Becky
actually walked in as we were finishing and afterwards escorted
us to their house at the other end of town. It was REALLY good
to see them. 
Dad fell during our little escape on FR 665
– we went on a section that was badly eroded and the bottom was
just soft sand. Because his shoulder was still quite sore from
his diving baseball catch a month or so ago, he took the fall
with his rib cage. This morning Fred DROVE us down to the
hospital so he could get some x-rays and also some medicine for
his cough – which unfortunately appears to be the exact same
thing that I had. X-rays were luckily negative. Later on in
the afternoon we DROVE up to Monte Vista to fill his
prescription and to shop at Safeway. Fred and Becky took us all
up to Big Meadow reservoir for a dinner picnic. It’s about 45
minutes from here and is just beautiful. We ate hamburgers and
hot dogs, fished a little, paddled around in the canoe a little
and just relaxed. I slept almost the entire way home and then
stayed up rather late talking to Angela. I love her. We
decided to stay here another day (July 10) and go to Church and
hopefully let Dad recoup a bit more. 
Well, we are back on the trail and
BOB-less. It’s been nearly a week since we’ve ridden. You
wouldn’t think that would make much difference, but it sure
did. Today’s ride didn’t help much either. We climbed up and
over Indiana Pass, 11,910 ft, the highest point of the entire
Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Del Norte is located at 7,874
ft so we gained over 4,000 ft in the first 24 miles. Of those
24, the first 11 were paved and mostly flat, so the real
climbing started at mile 12 when we hit gravel. It was a long
ride and the worst part was that the downhill was only a couple
miles long before we started climbing to get out
of Summitville,
and old mining town which is now and EPA superfund site. Just
as we were about ready to cross the next little divide, there
was a group of people who had
driven up and were all looking up
at one of the mountains with binoculars. We pulled over and
they quickly shared their binoculars and pointed out a huge herd
of elk way up on the mountain. They were well spread out across
a big bowl, but I would estimate that there were at least 100.
As we were sitting there gazing up, Dad pulled up in the van.
Boy was he a sight for sore eyes. He had scrounged through
every bike shop in Alamosa and found three different trunk racks
and even a short water bottle to fit my frame. He told us that
the pump at Stunner Campground was broken, so there really
wasn’t any point in pushing on to that location. We dropped
down the backside for a couple more miles and found a nice
grassy knoll. Thunderstorms were brewing about, but we only got
a few drops just as we were finishing dinner. My head is all
clogged up again, so I took a dose of Nyquil and it is just
starting to take affect. Good night.
After another hearty breakfast of oatmeal
and hot chocolate (and a banana compliments of Dad’s support
wagon) we headed off toward Platoro. My bum felt much better
even though my head was incredibly clogged. I honestly wasn’t
sure how far I would be able to go today, but luckily once I got
pumping, the nose and sinuses cleared and I felt great. We
cruised through the rolling hills along the top near Elwood Pass
and then really cruised down past Iron Creek and Stunner
Campground. The after crossing the Alamosa River, it was a
quick four mile climb up to Stunner Pass, 10,500 ft, and another
fast descent down to Platoro which is made up mostly of touristy
summer cabins. The plan was to meet Dad in Horca where FR 250
joined Hwy 17. The 23 miles from Platoro to Horca would have
been
wonderful had it not been for the absolutely relentless
washboard. Even my triceps are sore from holding the handlebars
so tight. There were some ups and downs in this stretch, but it
was mostly down following the Conejos Rivers through a beautiful
valley. We popped out in Horca at 2:00 pm 40 miles from our
campsite this morning and Dad still wasn’t there. We waited for
a little over an hour and then decided to just move on. I told
the cashier in the store to let Dad know if he came in looking
for us (no cell reception – not even Verizon) and I called Mom
from a pay phone to let her know our plan. We then started
climbing up La Manga Pass. 
From our campsite near La Manga Pass we
cruised down the highway for just 1.8 miles before we turned off
and crossed the narrow gage Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad.
Dad went down to Chamas to get a flat tire on the van fixed and
he took a bunch of pictures of the train as it headed out. $69
for a ticket and it was packed. The first half of today was
great – ups and downs, nothing severe, and then FR 87 was just a
rugged jeep trail complete
with lots of ruts and rocks. It was
a blast. One section after Brazos Ridge was even reminiscent of
Washington: thick furs and pines and muddy roads. Good stuff.
hamburger, lots of cheese, and pace
“pick-up-the-thick-and-chunky-one” salsa. All wrapped up in a
warm Mission flour tortilla. And we had orange-pineapple juice
to wash it down. To be honest, I really don’t miss the
oatmeal. We didn’t get out of camp until about 9:00, but it was
well worth it. There were just a couple of small climbs in the
beginning, then some really good downhills all the way to Cañon
Plaza, a very, very small town if you could even call it that.
Right after we dropped onto the pavement we saw Dad driving up
in the Sport Wagon. We stopped and filled up on water and then
headed down to the only slightly larger town of Vallecitos which
actually had a Post Office. The town itself was completely run
down and actually was kind of scary to ride through – lots of
mean dogs were there to greet us. 
The climb out of Vallecitos was HOT, but
soon we were back up among the pines. Just a couple of miles
from the summit some impressive thunder and lightning started
but it only rained on us for about 15 seconds. We finished the
climb and started down but after only a mile or two it was
apparent that it had rained quite a bit more on this side of
the
pass because there was a ton mud – caliche as the locals call
it. At first it was really fun sliding all over the place, but
the mud was extremely sticky and soon built up and made it
nearly impossible to roll, even downhill. We took some video
and pictures and then tried to keep pushing on but Braedon’s
rear derailleur broke. The hanger snapped and his derailleur as
wrapped up in his spokes above the chain stay. We took off his
chain and cable and re-sized the chain to make him a
“single-speed.” Then we sat there for a while longer scraping
mud off of the bikes. The sun was out and had mostly dried up
the road. The remainder of the ride down to El Rito was
downhill with mud chunks flying everywhere, eyes mostly closed
and praying not to go off the road. 
Dad was there at the highway waiting for us
again and we exchanged mud stories and then rode up the road a
bit to a little restaurant “El Farolito.” It was really good
Mexican food. Then we rode the next 12 miles to Hwy 84 where
Dad was again waiting and we loaded up and drove to Santa Fe.
There is a KOA here quite a ways out of town where we are camped
and tomorrow we hope to find some good bike shops to get Braedon
back on the road. We’ve showered – very good – and will do
laundry in the morning. The bikes are all cleaned up. Another
long day…
Late in the afternoon we drove back towards
Abiquiu and we rode the stretch on 84 from 554 into “town” so we
could just start from there in the morning. At the gas station
we loaded up again and drove up to the Corps of Engineers
Campground on Abiquiu Reservoir. It is a big, beautiful place
with water, showers, everything. I wish we could have stayed
there longer; it would be a fun family camping spot. Dinner was
chicken chow mien. Mmmmm.
book called the hardest climb
in the entire route. Dad made breakfast burritos again while
the rest of us struck camp and then he drove us back down to Abiquiu. We were on the trail a few minutes after 7:00 am. The
climb was incredibly long – about 27 miles and the road was more
like a rough jeep trail. There was a four or five mile
“slick-rock” section and then just a ton of really rough road
mixed with some loose sand sections. Needless to say, we didn’t
get to the first summit (yup, there was more than one) until
after 3:00 pm. There was short downhill, then another climb and
then some longer, rougher downhills. We crossed a cattle guard
right before turning onto FR 315 and Dad was sitting up on a
stump reading. We talked for a bit, then refilled the water
bottles (cold water is absolutely amazing) and
continued on.
The ensuing miles were much gentler, still ups and downs, but
the road was good. It felt wonderful to finally be able to get
some miles racked up. Dad had told us that there wasn’t any
place to camp in Cuba and that it would be better to stop while
we were still up in the trees. We are camped in a nice little
spot right after the trailhead for trail 51. Dinner was
hamburgers and the sunset which we enjoyed while we were still
riding, was beautiful. 
The ride out of Abiquiu was so long that it
took us a few hours to get moving this morning. Dad cooked
another wonderful breakfast burrito meal. We cleaned and lubed
the bikes and were on the road just before 10:00 am. I broke
the previous day’s high speed in the first quarter mile and in
no time we were down to the highway where we waited 20 minutes
for the pilot car to lead us down through a construction zone.
It was fun to see the worker’s expressions as we cruised by on
bikes. Down in Cuba, we met Dad outside a hardware store. He
was talking to three other cyclists on their way up north. I
bought some replacement bolts for the hinges on my trunk rack,
one of them had broken on the rough descent the day before. Dad
suggested buying extras so I went back in and got some, which
was good because the other pin broke later in the afternoon. We
opted for lunch at a Subway there in town and were finally on
our way towards Chaco a little bit before 1:00 pm. There was a
pretty good shoulder and only gentle climbs and drops over the
next 53 miles to Pueblo Pintado. Very fast riding. I rolled in
just a few minutes after 5:00 pm and eventually found Dad in a
trailer behind the mini-market talking to a guy named Dennis.
After a lengthy visit with him, we drove the 30 or so miles out
to Chaco Canyon arriving just before dusk. 
Today has been our rest day in Chaco Canyon
National Historic Park. We went
and walked through Pueblo
Bonito, the largest of the Chaco great houses that during its
peak around 1150 AD was five stories tall and had 800 rooms.
The ruins are quite impressive and I took lots of pictures and
video – probably too much. We went back to the visitor center
to eat lunch on a covered picnic table. It is deathly hot
here. It’s now after 6:00 pm now and the clouds are finally
covering the area. We’ve been lounging/sleeping/reading up in
the shadow of the canyon wall behind our campsite for the last
four hours or so.
instead of driving back up to Pueblo Pintado
where we stopped yesterday. The mileage difference was only two
miles. Those first ten miles flew by and we told Dad to then
wait for us 36 miles down the road at the next turn.
Unfortunately there was now a slight headwind. Even with the
winding road it seemed to always be in our face. The climbs got
a little larger as well, but we still made o.k. time. I was out
in the lead and arrived first to where Dad was waiting. A few
moments later it started to rain – big drops – so I climbed
inside the van. Scott arrived just a couple minutes later,
climbed inside and we waited a few minutes more for Braedon.
Right after he climbed inside the rain really started coming
down, so we ate our cheese and crackers and watched the last bit
of Behind Enemy Lines.
We ate at a truck stop buffet last night –
the Iron Skillet. We were obviously quite bloated by the time
we left there and for the first time in a long time I didn’t
sleep very well. It was really hot as well, which definitely
didn’t help. Dad woke up at about 6:00 am and said he was going
to run down to Wal-Mart to do some shopping. I was already
tossing, so after Dad left it was impossible to get back to
sleep. I packed everything up and wanted to cook some oatmeal,
but Dad had forgotten to leave the propane tank. So, once
everything was ready to go, we just sat and waited. Scott made
a jump on one of the railroad ties outlining the tent area.
That kept us entertained for a while, then at 8:00 am they
opened the main office and Scott and Braedon went in to play
some pool. Dad showed up a few minutes later. Apparently
Wal-Mart didn’t even open until 7:00. We packed everything and
then went back to the Iron Skillet for their breakfast buffet (I
guess we didn’t learn our lesson last night) and gorged
ourselves on sausage and bacon, pancakes, hash browns, eggs,
just mainly the healthy stuff. 
Finally at about 10:00 am we
were on the road and after a short detour caused by a missed
turn, we were on our way into El Malpais National Monument.
There is a nice visitor center/ranger station where we stopped
to use the restroom and get some water. Dad caught up with us
there and stayed pretty close for the rest of the day because it
looked like the windows of heaven could open up at any moment.
Lots of thunder and lightning too. We rode down to the La Ventana Trail and hiked up to the little viewpoint they have –
it really is an impressive arch. Dad drove a few more miles up
the road and waited for us where it looked like one of the big
thunderstorms would hit us. We ate lunch there in the van as
the storm approached. A wall of dark clouds dropping huge
amounts of precipitation came
close, but then the winds shifted
and we never got more than a few sprinkles. After lunch we rode
down to the turnoff onto gravel that leads to Pie Town. We had
planned to try Homestead Canyon for a campsite, but when we got
there the road was basically a muddy river. We pressed on until
the next intersection which was the road to Armijo Canyon. This
one is up on a small ridge so it wasn’t nearly as flooded. We
set up the tents just a few yards off the main road and Dad
cooked sloppy joes for dinner. We want to make it quite a bit
past Pie Town tomorrow, so I need my rest.
There’s nothing quite like being woken up
in the morning by the ruckus of cows and crows. It is actually
the morning of the 25th, but I was way too exhausted
to write anything last night. It was a LONG day. We woke up
early and the sky was clear, so things were looking promising.
We were on the road by 7:30 or
so and were able to make good
time, punching out the 30 miles to Pie Town by 10:45 am. The
famous PIE-O-NEER Café didn’t open until noon, so we just pulled
over and made sandwiches for an early lunch and then pulled out
again. As we were riding through the scattered and strange
houses that make up the town in Pie Town, I spotted an LDS
Chapel – unfortunately by this time it was already noon and we
figured we had missed the sacrament. We had no idea there would
be a chapel in such a small town.
we decided to give it a go. Luckily the roads weren’t sticky
like what we had run into above El Rito (not yet anyways). A
mile or two later the soil composition changed and we were
brought to a standstill by our now 29 inch tires. They don’t
work too well on a 26 inch frame.
We scraped the mud off and
tried to keep going, but it just built up again until it was
impossible to roll. A few hundred yards up the road, the soil
was a lighter color, so we ended up mostly carrying the bikes up
to that section. It was drier and after another scraped job, we
were able to start pedaling again. Unfortunately the rain also
started again, so we waited. The rain stopped, the sun started
to poke through the clouds and dry out the road and we started
riding again. Coming down a small descent, I saw that the flat
area was made up of the sticky mud/clay again, but after another
hundred yards it was dry. I started cranking as fast as I could
and just plowed through, huge chunks of mud flying everywhere
and my speed gradually decreased, but I did
make it across.
We slept in a bit this morning after that
long day yesterday. Dad cooked his wonderful and now standard
ham and eggs which was complemented by ice-cold O.J. For some
odd reason, Dad and Scott had full coverage on their phones and
Scott spent most of the morning talking to Mom. We rolled out
of camp at about 8:30 am and cruised down the extremely bumpy
road to Hwy 12 where Dad helped Braedon call Marin and order a
new hanger for his bike. It will be in Silver City tomorrow
morning. 
on fire. It was
started by lightning and the Forest Service here believes in
letting it burn naturally so the forest can rebuild. The road
we were on was the fire break, so it was weird to see everything
black on the right side and everything alive on the left.
Fortunately the smoke wasn’t too bad and we were able to make
good time on the gentle grade. On the downside of the 3rd
C.D. crossing we came to some ranch land where the road was no
longer graveled – just dirt. Some big storm clouds were
gathering. Judging by the large ruts in the road, I didn’t want
to be there if the rain started so once again, we cruised. Dad
followed us in the van and it
was actually quite impressive what
the Sport Wagon can negotiate. A small climb and way too much
washboard later we arrived at the Forest Service Beaverhead Work
Station. They let us camp right in front of the main office
next to a pit toilet. 
What a beast of a day. It’s been almost a
week since we had any real tough climbs and there were multiple
ones today. The book shows some wisdom in camping at Black
Canyon Campground and splitting up the climbs.
couple of what looked like Great
Blue Herons. The stream was the first running water that we had
seen since just outside of Del Norte, 12 days ago. It is way
too dry down here. Rising above Wall Lake was a four or five
mile climb and then a screaming, roller-coaster descent to Black
Canyon, followed by another incredible climb up the other side,
then another exciting drop into Rocky Canyon, and then another
grueling climb back up to the Divide. We rode on top for a few
miles, then dropped to Hwy 35 and cruised down to Mimbres where
we loaded up and Dad drove us to Silver City to a KOA. After an
extremely gorging dinner at Golden Corral, it was hot showers
and bed time.
there was a neat old cemetery. On
the way down the other side, the Santa Rita Copper Mine came
into view and it is huge. Lots of big rolling hills later we
rolled into the KOA, but Dad wasn’t there. Scott called him and
we decided to meet him at a Pizza Hut in downtown Silver City.
It was kind of tricky to find, but we did make it in time for
the lunch buffet. Once again, we ate way too much.
be too terribly long. When we were about ready to
pop, we left Pizza Hut and got back on the bikes and started
pedaling out of town. The book said that once you left Silver
City you were leaving the mountains behind. They must have been
driving in their Jeep when they wrote that because probably ¾ of
the ensuing 18 miles were uphill. Not huge Montana-like
mountains, but
definitely still mountains. We rode past the
Tyron Mine, another immense copper pit, finally arriving at Separ Rd where we planned to meet Dad. He wasn’t there, but
arrived shortly thereafter. Once we got back into town we
stopped at a really cool park close to the Pizza Hut and played
on the playground for a while, after all it was our rest day.
Soon the thunderstorms sent us scurrying back to the van and
back to the campsite. Apparently it had rained much, much
harder back at camp. There had been a muddy river draining the
upper sites that ran right under our tent. Everything was a
mess. We also had to clean and lube the bikes for the long day
ahead. We didn’t get to be until almost 10:00 pm – quite the
“rest day.”
4:15 am came way too quickly but I was
excited to start our (hopefully) last day. I woke up the boys
and Scott’s exact words were, “you’ve got to be kidding.” As we
packed everything – still quite wet and muddy – and then ate a
quick breakfast of oatmeal and hot chocolate by headlamp, Scott
just kept saying, “I’m on vacation.” 
We continued pumping through the desert and
eventually made it to Separ which really isn’t much more than a
gas station. A few miles of washboard filled frontage road
alongside I-10 was enough to make us grateful for pavement again
when we turned south on Hwy 146 towards Hachita. Arriving there
in time for a late lunch at the Hachita Café (an old semi
trailer container converted restaurant) we stopped and read some
of the entries in the GDMBR journal that they have there.
Matthew Lee was the only divide rider that we met this year, so
it was fun to recognize some of the names from last year. We
signed it as well, reloaded our water bottles and headed out to
finish the final 46 miles to the border. 
The final stretch on Hwy 81 was long and
flat and hot. Once we crossed between the Hatchet Mountains it
was
pretty much a straight shot all the way to Mexico. We did
see some more pronghorn, a couple large tarantulas and
millipedes, and even a tortoise crossing the road. It was hard
not to just be in a trance staring at the odometer wishing and
hoping to see it turn over to triple digits. Dad followed close
by to give us fresh water and encouragement. Finally we pulled
into the Border Inspection Station just before the dusk and
quickly made friends with the guard and his many dogs. There
was even a huge bull standing there near the road munching on
the green grass. The guard shared some popsicles with us (he
said the Schwann’s man makes weekly deliveries out there.) and
we chatted and took pictures until well after dark. They let us
step across the border and take some pictures in Mexico
too.
The border usually closes at 4:00 pm, but there was a group of
Mexicans on their way to Phoenix who had car trouble so they
were waiting for another van to come pick them up. The guard
kept the station open until they left. We also loaded up into
our van and headed north.